Participate in a research project

Participants Required:

Parents! Can you help us understand anxiety in children (5-15 years) on the autism spectrum by answering an online questionnaire?

Description of Project:

Many of the questionnaires used to measure anxiety were originally designed for neurotypical children. We are testing a common anxiety questionnaire, to check whether it works just as well to measure anxiety in children on the autism spectrum.

We are asking parents of children with an autism diagnosis (aged 5-15 years) to complete an online questionnaire about anxiety in their child. We are interested in responses about all children on the autism spectrum, NO MATTER THEIR ANXIETY LEVEL. The questionnaire is completely anonymous and will take about 45minutes to complete. For convenience, you may stop and start the questionnaire many times as you like.

(This study has been approved by Griffith Human Research Ethics Committee ref 2021/449).

Participants Required:

Children with autism and gut issues, aged 5-10 years.

Description of Project:

Background: Children with autism are four (4) times more likely to suffer with gut issues (tummy and bowel problems) than children without autism.  Research has linked both gut issues and autism to changes within the two-way communication network called the gut-brain axis.  Gut issues are also linked to increased severity of autistic behaviours and independently to anxiety/depression.

Aim:  To reduce gut issues in children with autism, with possible improvements in autism severity and anxiety scores.

Study Design:  This study is a randomised clinical trial.  If your child is enrolled, they will be randomly allocated to one of two 12-week treatment intervention groups:

1) synbiotic (prebiotic + probiotic supplement) or 2) synbiotic + home-based therapy program.

Participants Required:

People between 14 and 40 years of age with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder may be eligible to join this study.
Participants with a history of seizures, an implanted medical device, or moderate to severe intellectual disability cannot participate in this study.

Description of Project:

Background: Many individuals with ASD experience difficulty with social functioning; for example, in understanding what other people are thinking or feeling. This may cause significant distress and lead to difficulties and anxiety in social situations. There are very few intervention options for improving abilities related to social functioning in ASD.

Aim: The aim of this project is to determine whether rTMS can be used to improve social function. rTMS is a safe and non-invasive means of stimulating nerve cells in a particular part of the brain via the administration of brief magnetic pulses. rTMS has been developed as a intervention for major depressive disorder, and we have previously found that rTMS can benefit social aspects of ASD.

Methodology: In this study we will stimulate a region of the brain that is involved in social understanding and social communication. This region is called the right temporoparietal junction, or rTPJ.

Some participants will receive the real form of rTMS, while others will receive a sham or placebo form. The sham or placebo form mimics the feeling of rTMS, but no brain stimulation is delivered. You will not know which one you receive until the end of your involvement in the study. Those who received the sham or placebo form will be given the opportunity to undergo the real rTMS intervention at the end of their involvement in the study.

Participants Required:

We are looking to recruit pregnant women who have an older child diagnosed with ASD or either parent is diagnosed with ASD.  This is so that the intervention can commence antenatally or very early in the neonatal period.

For participants to be included in this study they must meet the following inclusion criteria:

(1) the infant’s mother must agree to the assessment requirements of the study;

(2) the infant must have one or more biological siblings diagnosed with ASD, or a biological parent (mother or father) diagnosed with ASD; and

(3) As ENACT uses integrated web-based delivery, parents are required to have reliable internet access at home (e.g. ADSL) and must be committed to maintaining internet access for the duration of the study.

The study will exclude potential participants in the case of:

(1) the parents having insufficient English to complete the assessment requirements; or

(2) families who identify at recruitment that they are unwilling to return for the outcome assessments at 6 months and 12 months of age.

(3) infants with a known chromosomal or neurological condition prior to study enrolment

Project Description:

Background: Infant siblings of older children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are at an increased risk of a diagnosis of ASD. From 6-12 months of age there are prodromal symptoms of ASD in the domains of motor skills, motor planning, visual attention, visual perception and affect regulation. This can impact on parent-infant interaction and language, social and cognitive development. In addition, mothers of infants at risk of ASD are at risk of poorer mental health when compared to the general population due to the complexity of managing ASD. Currently, there are no trials that have been conducted with infants at risk of ASD younger than six months of age.

Participants Required:

You are eligible to participate if you:

• Are autistic (self-identifying or diagnosed) or non-autistic
• Aged 18+ and live in Australia
• You have experienced mental health difficulties at any time in your life (whether or not you have seen a mental health practitioner)
• You have an internet connected device and sufficient written English language skills to complete an online survey.

Project Description:

Research from other countries shows that autistic people in general have poorer mental health than non-autistic people, face greater barriers to getting mental healthcare and are often not satisfied with the mental healthcare they receive. We are doing this survey to get the information needed to try to improve mental healthcare for autistic people in Australia.

To participate in this study, you will complete an anonymous, online survey that takes about 45 minutes (you can take breaks).

The survey asks about:

• your mental health needs
• barriers you have experienced to getting good mental healthcare
• details of any mental healthcare providers you have seen
• your experience of any mental healthcare you received
• your recommendations for improving mental healthcare in Australia.

Participants Required:

We are looking for parents/caregivers of Australian school-aged children (Foundation Year to Grade 6) who have or have not been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. You will be asked to complete an online survey about your child’s literacy and reading-related activities at home. Your participation will also include completion of the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), which is not diagnostic. The survey will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete.

Project Description:

The study (GU Ref No: 2021/126) is part of a larger program of research that aims to improve literacy outcomes for students on the autism spectrum through (a) understanding the diversity of reading strengths and needs, (b) helping teachers and therapists to identify students at risk of reading difficulties, and (c) identifying factors that predict literacy outcomes. This study aims to extend the existing literature by understanding the opportunities available for children to engage in reading and related activities at home and in the community, and to investigate whether this changes across development / year of schooling. This research study also forms a component of the Master of Clinical Psychology student’s academic program.

Participants Required:

Two distinctive groups of participants are required:

1) parents/guardians of children (<25) with diagnoses of ASD; and
2) adults (>18) with autism diagnoses.

Brief Description of Project:

The primary research objective for the present study is to ascertain parental/ guardian and/or personal (for adults over 18 years) views of certain interventions for ASD, based on their individual experiences. We also aim to identify preferred intervention approaches that may inform research decisions.

Participants Required:

We are seeking to recruit parents or carers of children and adolescents with a disability (including autism spectrum disorder), who are up to 18 years of age.

Project Description:

The aim of this project is to evaluate the Early Response Tool (ERT) to see if it’s a reliable, valid and usable assessment tool. The aim of the ERT is to gather a six-month snapshot of a family’s strengths and challenges. The ERT lists 47 day-to-day issues parents or carers commonly encounter when providing care to a child or adolescent with a disability, and parents/carers are asked to rate how often they encounter the issue in their day-to-day life. If you agree to participate in this project, you will be asked to complete a 10 to 20 minute online survey that includes the ERT and additional questions related to parent and family wellbeing and disability service use. If you would prefer to complete the survey on paper, a paper copy can be requested by contacting the research team

Participants Required:

You can take part if you:
1. Are aged 18+ years
2. Have a diagnosis of autism OR self-identify as autistic
3. Do not have an intellectual disability
4. Are proficient in English
5. Have access to the internet

Project Description:

This study will investigate risk and protective factors that may impact the mental health and wellbeing of autistic adults, including anxiety, depression and autistic burnout.

You will be asked to complete an anonymous online survey that will take approximately 45 minutes of your time, but you can take breaks if needed.